I looked up Cripe's data at Boqueteweather.com (by the way, that link works on this site) on rain for June and July (so far) this year as compared to last year.  Boquete does not have the same microclimate as we do, but the patterns of rainfall should be more or less the same.  June, 2008 was drier than June, 2007 by about 4", whereas this year, Boquete has had 2" more rain in July than last year.  2" seems like a lot for not quite 3 weeks.

I am going to make a special effort to see Ricardo Espinosa's rain data.

By the way, a note on how to access Lloyd's Boquete data: the link will take you to the Home Page.  At the Navigation Bar at the top, click on Stations.  The first one listed is Palmira Arriba, which is Lloyd's.  There is a link to Current and Archived Data--follow that.

Oh yay, it's raining. Damn, why did I open my balcony window, now my room's wet. I love rain. Rain is beautiful. Dark, windy, gloomy and wet. It's just so fucking beautiful, I could sit here and stare out of the window at the rain and the world passing by all day long.

Sigh, I got so much I want to say, so many insecurities, so many doubts, so many fears, but at the same time so much hope and love for you as well. I just don't know how to put my feelings into words. Sigh.. It tears me apart inside.

I've put the past behind me. It's just the present and you now, and I'm just hanging by a moment here with you. The future is blurry and uncertain, I'm so damn scared of it, yet I'm also looking foward to it. Cuz I've got fear, but I've got hope as well. Why do they always come in twos? Haha. Sighhh.

It's raining heavier than ever now.

How I wish you could see the potential, the potential of you and me
It's like a book elegantly bound, but in a language that you can't read - just yet
You gotta spend some time--love, you gotta spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find--love, I will possess your heart

There are days when outside your window, I see my reflection as I slowly pass
And I long for this mirrored perspective, when we'll be lovers, lovers at last
You gotta spend some time--love, you gotta spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find--love, I will possess your heart

Haha I don't mean this song in a vietnamese stalker-ish way. I mean it in a spe shuhhh way, spe shuhhhhh girl. Love (:

Corey writes about this pic...
"Coming out of a tunnel to cross the Tobin Bridge into Boston at rush hour, the sky is filled with operatic blackened clouds, impish lightning and, suddenly, an immense amount of rain. The whole city, with all its different people and stories, enclosed in one giant, thundering, subaquatic dream."

Visit this and other exquisitely captured beautiful things at her pixtress photo blog or visit www.coreykohn.com.

Imagine having a private rain shower, without leaving your bathroom.  With the looks of this  shower, every inch of your body is guaranteed to be purified. The Shower head from Fornara Maulini won't come cheap,  you might have to fly to Italy just to purchase, but it worth every buck right?

http://www.fornaramaulini.com

 It is turbulent outside; I am motionless inside.

I delight to the sight of the sparkling waters confined on the tips of the leaves and that magical moment when the gentle breeze shake the lucid liquid beads off the trees. Below are streams of rain water collected into small pools in the concrete pavement that drain to the gutter, to the directions I wouldn't know. I listen closely to the refreshing sound of waters rushing down the spout near my window as I block my ears from the much louder and annoying noise of the down pours hitting the roofs and the grounds that now release that sweet scent of the earth when it rains.

The chilly feel, the soothing sights, and sounds, and smell of the rain calm my senses.

The heavens bathe the trees again. Quenching the thirst in our hearts and bring our wilted souls back to life so our petals could display their rich colors once more.

The heavens wash the pavements and the gutters and flush the arteries of the city from the clotted debris draining them to rivers, and lakes, and oceans and the filthy sins of the city desolves and forgotten in nature's forgiving heart. 

Silently I, too, let the rain carry my own sighs down the drain and I felt the cleansing of my heart. 

And the rain stopped.

I watch the faint reflection of twilight in my window  and let it in. The view gave my soul a certain peace.

I am a better me like a cleared window pane after the rain.

    Ken Holscher, associate professor and extension entomologist for Iowa State University, said he wasn’t precisely sure how much water is needed for a mosquito to complete its life cycle, but said if there is at least 1 inch of water present for 7-10 days, (or as long as it takes to complete their immature development) and sufficient organic material to serve as a larval food supply, that’s all that’s needed to produce a batch of mosquitoes.

   Holscher said mosquito larvae are considered to be "filter feeders" that use their mouthparts to filter and feed on bacteria and microscopic bits of algae, fungi, and other organic detritus in the water.  Cleaner water will typically produce fewer mosquito larvae.  However, the standing water that collects in outdoor areas during the summer will usually have enough organic material to produce at least some mosquitoes.

   The Culex species of mosquitoes that can carry West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis and other diseases that cause brain infection, like to breed in containers, such as mine, or old tires.

   It didn’t take long for me to pitch the half-buried treasures. I’ll keep a closer eye on my bird bath and fountain, as well, to make my yard less hospitable to these unwanted summer pests.

But you know, when a relationship goes on for that lenght of time, you start to wonder. Take stock of your life. As you hear the monotonous sound of your life partners pitter patter, the drooning noice of it, and you feel, yet again, its cold cold fingers fondling your neck at really rather the wrong moment, you start to wonder. Is this really what I want? Is this all there is in life? Could there be someone out there for me, not as wet, surely, but perhaps slightly warmer?

Today has been the type of day the most conductive to a measured, critical analysis of weather this bloody fucking trip was a good idea to begin with or no. My thoughts have focused on two main issues, both rather high on the Maslovic Pyramid.

1. No Food Is Worse Food than Bad Food, When You Are Hungry

Jereome K. has already explained to us the faith of a packed lunch in rain. I will not borrow, nor steal, from him, and only say that I wish he could have been around today, to bring his comic genious to bear on the concept of an orange-filling danish, and three slices of smoked salmon, travelling together down a bumpy road in a paper bag in a tropical downpour. Leaving you to imagine the rest: I will instead go discuss the more general aspects of food on this trip.

Far be it from me to kick someone who is down (barring that Caravan-owning member of the Furtherancers I met in a back alley last night). Which explains why I have written so scantily about the joys of eating - there has been nothing to eat - and by default, precious little to be praised. 

As I write this, I have journeyed some 800 odd k of Swedish road. And I have been able to procure exactly two cups of coffee. In towns, luckily, you do find some "shops". Their vegetable departments have ranged from banana - in singular - to potatoes - uncooked, not ideal for a sensitive stomach such as mine. This has left me subsisting on stale bread, packs of unidentifiable conserved meats and the occasional ice-cream - frosted of course, being a left-over from summers past. Now, I know that a slow death of scurvy is not the fate of travellers in all lands.

Walking in France? I can give you the adress of a great farm, at the back of nowhere, where a man lives with his pigs and his goats and his live in Russian he-lover: they serve a divine meal, complete with little toxic rocks he calls, affectionately, cheese. Wandering the wilds of Spain? Well, stay away from the chilled red, but please have your fill of the Pulpo and the extra dry cider; to be had at your convenience, climbing every mountain.

Of course I know that these delicacies have probably been flown in from Quaint Local Produce Ltd outside Austin, Texas. Of course you can't expect Swedish yokels, who see one passing tourist ever ten months, to be standing at the ready with the skillet or the spit. But a cracker, perhaps?

2. No Company is Better Company than Bad Company, But Still Kinda Sad on Day Seven

Yes, I'll admit it. There is something about standing in the middle of nowhere, drenched to the bone, with six hours of heavy uphellish road before you, that sort of makes me wish I had someone to share my impressions with. (This goes also for the breathtaking scenic views, the quaint villages, the cute houses and the Downhills). Explaining it to others later will never quite capture the gashtlyness/grandness of the occasion.

This lack of company became extra evident today when I looked through my camera. I had promised my sister to document my adventure (she thinks I have secretly taken the train and am booked into some SPA or other). But so far I had taken one picture. Of a road going uphill.

(Being a not very good photographer is only made bearable if you have people, some human interest, in your pictures. The nearest I have come to human interaction in the past few days was saying a guarded hello to a one-legged Finnish lady who was sharing my bathroom this morning.  And I couldn't really snap a shot of that, I mean, her.)

Suffice to say, bar the snippets I can give posterity (and the Radio Surveillance unit of the Swedish Military) on this page; no one will ever really know what I have been through. And that means, I am afraid, no medal, no oohs or aahs and no later doubling over laughing Together With Someone thinking about that time we (that is, the rain and I) missed the ferry crossing the sound.

Once I got to thinking about this, I felt sort of down. I mean, the rain was pouring, my stomach was rumbling, and that was it for human sounds. So I did what any girl does when she is in need: I called my brother. Having ensured that I will arrive tomorrow to a large cooked dinner, a large glass of wine and then a large party full of debauched artists I feel better.

And I guess I can face on more day of downing in love.

My mom is here. We are getting along just lovely so far. Its wonderful. 

Yesterday Poet Boy brought me a milkshake and then stayed and talked to me for a bit while I worked. My boss came by and didn't seem bothered that I had a friend there. Today my boss asked if this was the same friend I was going to have help me painting next week. It wasn't, and he said good. I guess he didn't get a good first impression. People's dynamics are funny.

I'm off to find a way to have fun in the rain with my mom. I'm not sure what we'll do- there aren't too many options.

• DBSK is number one on Japan Oricon charts for their single Why Did I Fall in Love with You?. I wasn't surprised because I'm the only one who isn't really feeling this single. My love for DBSK isn't gone but, in the midst of crazy fandom and their lackluster singles, it's kind of fading (kind of like their faces on their album jacket).
• G-Dragon will be on the July 27th episode of Family Outing. The show, hosted by Yoo Jae Suk, Lee Hyori, Park Ye Jin and Big Bang-er, Dae Sung, follows the hosts as they take over an old couples house and doing there chores for a day or two (sounds boring but it's actually hilarious). In this episode G-Dragon gets a kiss from Ye Jin and Hyori at the same time and this is getting it attention. *sigh*
• Wonder Girls is number one on Mnet countdown... yay for mediocre music.
• KBS world states that Rain has "made the Forbes list again" I'd like to correct that by saying Rain is in Forbes but he is not on the actual Forbes 100 Celebrity list. He's in a spread about celebrity power behind selling cell phones. So, relax Clouds and please stop overestimating the power of Rain.
• SHINee's Onew and Key work the awkward bantering on a June 26th episode of Channel V. (Recently subbed by Shineesubs). They also touch each others moobs to "listen to their heartbeats". Oh SHINee, I still like them too but I'm finding nothing they do interesting. I've been in the Kpop scene too long,  I'm expecting to be constantly entertained by artists, but that is not and should not be the case. 

*I'm walking outside, there is a great deal of water on the ground... I'm surprised that it has rained overnight.

*I'm hearing someone talk about a way to prevent fleas on dogs.  I can picture someone giving a small dog a bath in a kitchen sink... tiny bugs crawling on it's belly and the water alone will not wash it off... they are talking about some kind of shampoo.  I see this and think about how this is one of many issues to think about when you have a pet dog.

*I'm sitting at the dining room table... FB is to my left, S is to my right.  We are playing Trivial Pursuit.  It is FB's turn to answer a question... an entertainment question about a musician.  It's not music FB would listen to, but he worked at a venue where a concert was once held.  S sits back casually in the chair directly next to me, asking the question then tapping the card on the table waiting for an answer - he is confident the answer will be wrong.  FB sits leaning forward a bit in his chair.  I sit with my arms resting on the table, hands folded together.  I'm giggling at the question, and I say "It's sort of a double-edged sword for you, isn't it?  If you answer wrong, you miss a turn... if you answer right, it'll look like you were watching the concert and not working."  FB rolls his eyes, he places his right hand over mine on the table to shush me, and asks for the question to be repeated.

Me, Ross & Lucas worked this morning, for about 40 minutes or so, then we all drove back home again. After lunch, I wasn't supposed to work until 3:00pm, so that was fine. I was expecting Fay to call anytime around 2 - 2:30 telling me to not bother to walk up...But she didn't. I txt'd Lucas and was like, man, what are you guys doing up there today?? He said there were actually kids swimming today..so then I had to get ready and I knew I didn't get another evening off. Until I was about 5 minutes up the road and Lucas called me this time. He said Heather, where are you, and i'm like, I'm on my way! And he said, that's ok, turn around. lol...I was like whaaat haha. I didn't mind getting the call, but I had already left lol. Oh well, I got a small walk out of it I guess.. :P

Right after lunch today, guess what I did...a work outtt!!! Woo hoo, I put an end to the procrastination!! :D Go me. I feel accomplished, even though I have just begun. I guess I feel like that because now that I have started, it should be an easy routine for me now. I hope anyway. I want to keep it up, I'd love to loose a few lbs and get a good ab work out; that's my main goal. Get a great stomach. And now the process has begun. Go me ^.^ I almost asked Mom to pick me up an exercise video, but I realized that all I need to do is search for some videos on youtube and bookmark them. And that's what I did. I just bring my laptop downstairs with me and go to it :)

Ma & Pa just called, they just left Corner Brook and are on the Trans Canada once again. Homeward bound. The dress I posted about yesterday was my first choice for Mom to pick up right, well, that one didn't work out. There were two sizes there a L and an XL. Well she cancelled the XL out, but the L was a possibility, but when she looked, the strap was broken :\ So that was out! That was fine though, I don't care, there are other choices in the mall! lol. She headed across to Stiches instead and luckily enough, she ended up with 2 dresses! Aparantly one is pink with a V-neck in front and a V-back, too. And (holyyyy crap, you should see/hear the rain comin' down out there!) the other one is white with a black print as far as I know. I am excited to see them : ) She got a friggin awesome deal; one dress was $6 & the other was $12! So she said you can obviously keep them both lol. Sweet. Later she strolled into Eclipse and ended up buying me a dressy shirt ..so I'm like, well Mom, keep it comin'! Haha :)

I went over to Lisa's for supper last night, and we had some delish takeout. Yum. However, we were saturated with rain when we got back!! It was like the Heavan's opened up and let 'er go. Lol. When we got near to her house we were like screw it, why the heck are we gonna try and stay dry, it's way to late for that, so we just rain through the massive puddles lol. It was so funny. I was mainly concerned about the takeout of course, I just didn't want our food to get wet hahah..we had quite a laugh, and we dropped one coslaw on the way back LOL..

I didn't need to go into work last night either, which I was glad of, because I got to sit back and relax with Lisa while we watched tv, surfed the net and listend to music. Oh, and laughed our asses off at some Mr. Bean clips on YouTube. Man, hilarious. I bought myself a Mr. Bean dvd in Corner Brook when I was still attending uni this year lol. Anyway, it was nice that I didn't need to go to the pool last night. We both kinda ate a load of these amazingly delicious chocolate chip cookies that Lisa made a couple days before...Lisa if you read this; I am going to make sure you bake some more sometime...Oh yesss. ;)

Have you ever wanted a waterproof, weatherproof, lightweight portable solar charger for small electronics? Whether you're a backpacker, a survivalist, or just trying to preserve the planet so you can enjoy it outdoors a little longer, this is the project for you....

Source: http://www.instructables.com/id/Rain-or-Shine-Solar-Charger/

Almost one half a year ago, I stuck some leaves from my old zz plant in a pot. Just when I was about to give up, it has finally produced new plants! On a sad rainy Friday... this little light green leaves made my day.

And when I looked outside... *s*

even my hard core cactus has tiny pretty white flowers nowadays...

*sighs*

how lovely... love you, life.

<3 hugs

Here, the monsoon is pretty tame, even pleasant. Essentially, it means that most every day it's going to rain at some point, but typically that just involves an hour or so of rain in the midst of an otherwise partly sunny day. The exception was one period of 4-5 days straight, a couple weeks ago, when it didn't rain at all. By then, I was so used to the daily showers that I got a little worried, and started anxiously looking at our two neighboring rice paddies, wondering if they were suffering.

The dry spell broke with a good, strong, soaking rain, and since then, the daily showers are back.

Today, for example, we walked a few "blocks" (Nepal does not really have blocks, but it was about that distance) to a restaurant for lunch around noon, then back around 1 o'clock, with nary a concern for not carrying an umbrella; the day was fairly sunny, and the weather very pleasant.

When I stepped outside at 2, a steady rain pounded down, as if it had been doing so for hours.

But then it cleared up, and the rest of the day was dry.

If for nothing else, I appreciate the rains for keeping the temperature comfortable. During the dry days, for the first time, I noticed I was hot. Most days, instead, I can wear a long skirt and a short-sleeved shirt and not pay any attention to the temperature at all.

That's probably not true for the people stacking bricks, or weeding the fields, but it's perfectly fine for wandering down the streets, or doing housework like the laundry outside. And really, all day long, it does seem the majority of the population of Kathmandu is outside doing something, most of the time.

When the rain starts, out pop ubiquitous umbrellas, or sheets of cardboard, or plastic ponchos... or people duck under the eaves of stores... or just keep going, like the cows.

Not that the rain can't be excessive. One evening, it abruptly poured so hard it was difficult to see for about fifteen minutes, just before we had to go out to meet a group for dinner. We lucked out by riding in a Honda CR-V with great ground clearance, but we gawked at the endless stream of water transforming our road into a stream. Probably it was about 6 inches to a foot deep. The bikes and motorcycles pulled up on the sidewalks, and most everyone pressed back against the buildings for cover, staring at the minor flood as much as we did. Some people dared the water, wading across the street--but when a child slipped in the current (to be quickly caught and supported by a relative) all the people clustered around a busy intersection looked even more wary.

Two hours later, the water had drained away. By the next morning, you couldn't even tell it had rained at all.

But when it does rain, you can use your Nepali of the day:

Punnee alee alee--It's raining a little.

Punnee ekdam pardaicha--It's really raining; It's raining very hard

I prefer watching the downpours from inside:

It took 30 minutes for my sleep-fuddled mind to realize - it wasn't headlights.  It was lightning.  The complete darkness was because the power was out.  The 3 dusk-to-dawn lights were off.  I had to go to the bathroom.  The house was in darkness - but - I reasoned, the lightning would light my way.  My luck.  The lightening stopped as soon as I groped my way to the kitchen.

I banged and crashed into everything.  Why does the furniture in your own home seem to jump out and attack when the electricity is off?  There was a heavy downpour of rain.  Oh, great.  At 5 a.m. I have to put something in the mail box.  A neighbor is picking it up at 5:30 a.m. on his way to work.  I wasn't keen on going out in that downpour.

Walking back from the mailbox, I noticed a 3 pound spider in the corner of the door frame.  'I'm going back to bed.'  I told the ugly thing.  'When I get up - I'm going to kill you.  You have 3 hours to pray.'  Geesh!  The spiders around here are getting big enough to shoot.

So I'm going along to poke at the dolphins myself. It will be a very hypocritical day. My favorite!

Last night is RAINED. It rained harder than perhaps I have ever seen it rain before. Just when I thought that it was raining the hardest, it rained harder. Lightening started in the mountains and then moved right over the house. It was striking VERY close, enough to send electricity through the air. The thunder was so loud and close that at one point I was even startled enough to grab the dog, who was terrified of course, during the course of the events.

This is what my street looked like:

And that isn't even the bad part of the street. A big, ass boulder got swept down into the intersection too, along with buckets, boxes and other assorted junk. At least when the river on my street gets big like that, it smooths out some of the edges and almost makes it flat again.

I worked out this fantastic deal with the woman across the street where she comes twice per week and cleans like crazy for like 3-4 hours and then I pay her $25, yes for the week. Don't get on my neck about it, it's good wages here and more than the going rate, but the woman can't do dishes to save her life. Every dish she does is still dirty. I wonder how her family avoids food poisoning. Other than that, she's awesome and she's embraced using the vacuum cleaner despite her initial misgivings.

More kitten talk: the kittens are insane. They are climbing all over the house and I can usually find them on top of the half wall by the stairs. This morning when I came out to the living room, they ran up and attacked (playfully) Grace O'Malley, who is finally getting over her snit fit. It's like living in a house with two gremlins. But they are so, so cute and fun to have around...I'm worried about finding homes for them though. I can't add two more cats to the brood, I just can't. Here are some pictures of the little darlings sleeping and cuddling.

And the crusty stuff on their faces is finally going away.

I'm SO ready for this weekend to hurry up and get here, and for me, that will happen in T minus 88 minutes.  The countdown has begun and my toes are itching for some surf, sun and sand.  I haven't hit the water since I've been in this state, and I have to say that, IT's TIME! 

I'm from Western Washington State, home of the ocean in the sky.  It rains there 9 months out of the year, we live right next to the water, meaning the Puget Sound, and a hop, skip and a jump from the good ole Pacific Ocean.  Can't go wrong, water everywhere and greenery abounds.....  NC is great, I like it, the thunder/lightning storms are cool, but we're going through an extended DROUGHT - not my forte.  I'm not used to a lack of water or water restrictions.  That's just abnormal in my world.  I'm not used to driving an hour to the "lake" which is an accumulation of a river, or 3 to 4 hours to the "beach" which is not called the ocean on this part of the country...lol.  It's okay - cultural differences, I get it.

These last few weeks have been crazy hectic at work, my good bud got to go surf and sand it up and I felt the pangs of jealousy eating out my insides.  I'm so incredibly ready for this - physically and mentally.  Let's go already.  Only 79 more minutes at work and then the movement begins.  Drive to the house, grab the kid and clothes, meet up with co-vacationers, and make the drive.  That will be the worst of it, but we will survive.  Hotel has been reserved and fun is waiting to be had.  Ahhhhh, happy Friday to you all - gotta bust arse some more around these parts.  Ciao!

But with enough warning, local Olympic organizers say they have a back-up plan to make sure it doesn’t rain on the parade of athletes: Pop the rain clouds before they get here.

Chinese weather officials say they will send planes and rockets loaded with silver iodine and dry ice up in the sky, which will “induce rain before the clouds veer toward the Olympic venues.”

Evidenyly, the technology only works for light rain.

This USA Today article casts some international doubt over whether or not the rocket launchers actually work. The link also has a picture of one the 6,781 artillery guns and 4,110 rocket launchers (Xinhua news agency) used to induce rain.

"Thunderstorms, heavy rain, high temperatures, muggy skies and even hailstorms could be a problem," said Chen Zhenlin, director of the Olympic Weather Service Center.

One thing is for sure though. Weather forecasters have also launched new weather satellites they hope will allow for more accurate forecasts to be available more frequently.

An online poll asks Netizens to predict who in the Korean music world would make the kindest father.
404,839 voted and here are the results.

01 JunJin - 134890 votes 33.31%
02 Jang Gun Sok - 129310 votes 31.94%
03 Kwon Sang Woo - 56353 votes 12.71%
04 RAIN - 37467 votes 8.45%
05 Kim Sung Min - 19486 votes 4.4%
06 Shin Hye Sung - 11673 votes 2.63%
07 Ahn Jae Won - 10562 votes 2.38%
08 ANDY - 6492 votes 1.46%
09 Kim Dong Wan - 5935 votes 1.34%
10 ERIC - 5599 votes 1.26%
11 Lee Min Woo - 4734 votes 1.07%
12 Lee Jun Ki - 4185 votes 0.94%
13 hangeng- 2879 votes 0.65%
14 Jung Yun Ho - 1315 votes 0.3%
15 siwon - 1000 votes 0.23%
16 Jang Dong Gun - 982 votes 0.22%
17 heechul- 929 votes 0.21%
18 Kim Jae Joong - 896 votes 0.2%
19 Kim Jong Kook - 846 votes 0.19%
20 Park Yoo Chun - 757 votes 0.17%
21 Yon Jong Hoon - 711 votes 0.16%
22 Kim Jun Su - 591 votes 0.13%
23 Kim Rae Won - 572 votes 0.13%
24 leeteuk- 539 votes 0.12%
25 Shim Chang Min - 487 votes 0.11%

source: asianfanatics

Wow, I'm surprised RAIN is there. A guy having a one night stand with Lee Hyori will be a good father? JunJin, I kinda predicted that. Oh and wow again, Andy of Shinhwa is there. Probably Solbi and him would consider making one? After all, Solbi wants it.. I guess.

..................... sigh .............................

The rain comes in sheets, in drizzle, in spurts. 

Everything is wet.  Cold.  Grey. 

I can't dry the clothes outside, I can't get to the vegetables in the garden, I can't cut the grass.  

Mind going....dog whining....must get sunshine.